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Comment by xenator | Hacker News Reader

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> Every time I paid by cache on oil stations. Sometimes my car was half empty, sometimes it was almost full, but I expected long run. And every time amount I need to pay was completely unpredictable.

How is this any different than filling up a car in any other country?

Gas stations post their prices outside. You should get a feel for how many gallons are going into the tank when it’s half full or mostly full.

The pump shows the price in real time as you’re pumping. You can stop whenever you want. I’m having a hard time believing your story because it’s so clear what your price is by the second as you pump.

Also FYI: You could have walked into the gas station and asked the attendant for “$20 on pump #3” and then pump #3 would only dispense $20.00 of gas before stopping.

> I had very strong aftertaste that USA as part of the Western Civilization at this moment built on top of hidden slavery,

Gas stations charging by the gallon is slavery? What? I’m having a hard time believing this comment is real and not just some “America bad” thing. You can’t honestly equate paying for gas to slavery or act like paying by the gallon only happens in the United States.

> paying by the gallon only happens in the United States

It does. In other countries they pay by the liter and it's also much more expensive unless you're in the middle east.

There is no meaningful difference between paying by the gallon and paying by the liter.

If you drove your car across 17 countries in Europe would you expect to pay the same at every station you come across? I don't think what you're saying is even the norm within European countries, is it?

I suspect it’s something about how often in the US, taxes are added to the displayed price at the cash register. That’s not true in Europe, and is jarring when visiting or moving here.

However, this doesn’t apply to gas stations in the US. The displayed price is always inclusive of all taxes and fees. I don’t think there are any states in the US where that isn’t true.

> However, this doesn’t apply to gas stations in the US

Which is why the comment above is illogical. The prices are posted on a big sign outside. The prices are posted in real time on the pump itself.

Equating gas stations to slavery can’t be a real comment, can it? This feels like someone who hasn’t been to the United States trying to tell a story about the United States being bad based on how they imagine it working.

Which is strange because gas stations are a very notable exception to this rule and the tax is all included in the posted price.

Exactly.

States in the United States are more than just administrative districts. in the case of the first thirteen states, the predate the federal government.

Each one has its own elected government. They have their own criminal and judicial system, as well as their own tax regimes.

Apart from the tax regime though, some states are home to large refineries which produce gasoline and many states don't. The distance you are from the point of production of the gasoline also comes into play.

Big difference is that prices shown include all taxes and other fees.

Filling up at a gas station in the US (or buying booze or many other food/drink items at a store I guess) actually are cases where the advertised price actually is the price. (OK, some gas stations have member rewards prices but you still know up front.)

petrol is one of the few things we buy that has tax built in. you pump $23.72, that's exactly what you pay. You prepay with cash - you're having to estimate what, say, $15 will get you. Delta of $2.80/gal vs $3.30/gal - yeah, it's a bit different, but nothing is hidden.

Sales tax on literally everything is fairly different state to state (and within sometimes) but petrol is a major daily thing that is tax inclusive.

Gas station prices in the US are always inclusive of all taxes and fees. One of very few products where this is true.

you would know before consuming how much you would end up paying. not so in the land of the free.

Only if you can’t multiply two numbers or if you can’t monitor a digital gauge that literally shows how much it will cost.

I suspect the person above hasn’t even travelled to the US.

Yeah, if he had he would have known the gasoline is one of the few things in the US where the pricing is fully transparent.

Gonna be honest, I think you're just lying. There is a giant sign outside every gas station with the exact price per gallon of gas including tax. As you pump, there is a display with the exact cost of what you have pumped. It's one of the few cases where the cost is completely transparent.

Each gas station in America does two things. One they take delivery of gas and they have to factor this with the future price of gas which requires one piece of data to setup the price of gas. The other piece of data is that they determine the price to also factor in demand which is obvious for them. Thats primarily why you can't predict gas prices. They can mess this up this easily.

What a bizarre example. Gas in the US is priced about as transparently as it is possible to be. There isn't even the thing where you have to add sales taxes on to the posted price, like there is with most other things in the US. Every single station has the total price per gallon, inclusive of all taxes, on a giant sign. The amount you pay is literally the number of gallons you pumped multiplied by that number.

If you're going to make up stories, at least do five seconds of research first to make it vaguely plausible.

You didn’t know how to pay for gas so you felt like you were in a country built on hidden slavery!?

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